Crimson Chronicles: Elysium's Pride
by Hylindril
Summary: But eight there were who reached the light and bound the darkness within their dusty hearts. A story for each, a beginning, and an end. Read between the lines and see some of the answers that Edward seeks in Crimson Horizons: Rise of the Vampire Lords.
1. Chapter 1

Shadows

The weeping forests beneath us whimper and are fading into the maelstrom of the past. A shadow in the light of the eternity that we all share is ravaging amongst the fierce phantoms of the night.

Continents perish in the uproar of Neptune's wrath. He throws, and spits his freezing mists upon the green lands of our old world and turns them to ash. Hungry, and destitute, he devours our homes.

The sun has misplaced its heat and the moon its guiding light. What do we feel if not the pleasure of the life of which we were born? The flower drips with its sweet nectar and bathes in the soothing midsummer's breeze. It taunts me, and mocks my diamond prison. What does this arrogant root know of life? Everything…

The horizons are not what they once were. When so long ago they waved their glowing goodbyes and went to sleep they filled us with the hope of yet another day. But now, we dread the existence of it and the return they make each new morrow.

What are we?

Dwindling down the cold path of immortality is the only destiny left for us. No one knows what it is like when the elderly lights of day and night are dead. When the elixir of innocence like the pearling grace of a baby's face lures you into the realm of a shrouded monster that wishes nothing more than to whisper the words that turn you into a slaughterer then you know that all is vain.

Where are the relics of old; the giants that began all of this evil? Why must we be so far away from white shores?

Why were we selected for this task? Why can they walk in the sun and laugh and cheer about their lives whilst we must suffer and thirst? Is it envy that thrives us? We would gladly sell our black little souls to the most vicious of demons to wipe them all out with but a finger snap of these long white claws.

Look at them. They are divided, leaders, and filthy down to the last one of them. WARMONGERS! MURDERERS! THIEVES! SCAVANGERS!

Are they the favorite? Does this world belong to them? They do not deserve it! They pillage everything, down to the last child they themselves even bore. It brings such sorrow to my dusty heart to think that this would be a world for humanity.

Why is it that we must linger in the shadows? Do we belong here or did we come from another world? These riddles that slither like serpents around my steps and never advise the road to the keys that unlock their treasures; I hate them.

Is there nothing left? Is there nothing to fight for?

This world was once green and good. It was so rich and pure and untainted by the malicious acts of those that sprang from the earth. Why did she allow them passage? They do nothing but drain her of that which she so graciously provides.

I can feel the depth and dagger piercing pain in my chest. It feeds upon my despair, and my sadness. It was a sacrifice that all eight made. An ancient evil that once dwelled above in the heavens and that truly belongs in the hearts of everyone now slumbers in the hearts of the eight.

We are bound by fellowship, strength, and compassion to one another. Yet we are alone. We have always been alone. We are not to be known to mortals or our own. However, I have foreseen our time.

A day in which we will emerge from behind the foggy walls that separate us from the living and the dead will come. It will be an era that we have waited for. We have waited so long…

On that day we will emerge out of legend and rise from the ashes of the past and illuminate all those that wish to see.

That day, though so sweet, is forever away.

Why do we fight…? It is…tiresome. What do we have left?

What… do I have left?

Standing alone on a rocky cliff and waiting for the crimson dawn to appear and hope that… that perhaps today will be the day in which I will hear your song?

_I wish you were with me…_

Is this my fate then? Forever bound in immortality and remembering, seeing, and foreshadowing all these evil days? This cannot be. There must be a purpose higher than that of us. There is a purpose. I know this purpose. But I do not understand it.

Why am I here? Why am I still here? Why not end it all?

A sob now escapes my withering lips. The tears come so easy to me now. Yet, they are evanescent and forever hidden from me. I cannot feel them, though I sense the aura of their presence.

I cannot end it. I cannot leave. I cannot get out.

I have… walked to long. I have talked to the trees for too long. Fire, it has lost its spell over me. I am bound to see the last days of this grayish earth.

The trees… There is such a wrathful laugh echoing through these white woods. They are the home to those ivory trees. I have known these trees from nothing but seeds. I loved to sing with them, and hear the stories as their voices chanted. But now, they are gone. Faded, and hollow. They have returned to life.

I feel weary. All those that I loved are gone. All those that I once knew have passed into memory. Those that brought me into this life, those that taught me life, and even he who showed me life returned to life.

In the end, I am alone. In the end, we are all alone.

WHY AM I TRAPPED IN THIS DIAMOND PRISON?

I want to break free, and spread my wings and fly to where you now live. I wish to relinquish and obliterate these chains that bind me to the ground by the blood of my victims. I can still hear them…

I hear them screaming within me. Their voices were nothing but whispers at first until they grew and are now distorting my thoughts. They curse, and swear. They wish for me to die so they may be released from their underworld prison. Their faces of terror and fear drift around me like paintings. They are to remind me of the monstrous nature I withhold; remind me… always.

_THUMP THUMP… THUMP THUMP_

My heart, it beats. I rejoice when this rare event occurs but this one moment of pleasure must be fought and caged away.

He grows stronger. His chaos is spreading and infecting every nerve, cell, and limb of me. The black lightning that now surrounds my barren beat must be contained. It must be preserved and imprisoned forever. What if it flees I wonder?

It shall seek its brothers first and then once it is anew it will spread a terrifying wave of darkness all over an already darkened world. It will surround that which is still good and harbors love. It would feed and destroy that, and bring about the end of days.

Courage, wisdom, and fearlessness aid me now. They are the three elements needed to lock it away in the chasms of my forever. It, which has existed since the dawn of all things must never sway my mind or it will bring the end of all things.

I must continue down the route of enlightenment. It is the sacrifice that all eight made but not for glory, power, nor pity but for the freedom of our children's children.

It is our… purpose. Forever shall we live, and never will we fade. The stars that wait beyond the horizons we shall never look upon. The trees are the only ones that share our pain and suffering.

The rest of the world has forgotten about us and has forsaken us into the dirty abyss of unwanted things.

It was our choice. The light was before us and we all reached out. Each one made their choice on their own. Each one of us realized the danger, and very well knew about the ultimate sacrifice we were conspiring.

Now looking back upon things long done I know that if had the choice once more, I would not wander to it so easily.

If I did not have it within me… would I be able to hear your voice? Would I be able to smile upon your never fading memory? But a thought of you brings these tears to me. Why can I not hear you? Where are you?

Are you trapped? Are you wandering as well? Do you search for me as I do for you? I cannot let go. I will not let go. If I let go of you, I let go of that which I once was. It is only your memory that still links me to the white city, and to empathy.

Oh… How much longer? Are millennia not enough? Were centuries not enough for that matter?

I envy them. I spite those of our kind who know nothing of what we have done, and what we must eternally do. Why can I not live without anguish? Why must this heavy burden sit upon my shoulders? I chose this, and knowing all that I do I know I would choose it again. If not me then some other poor soul would have been assigned this task. I cannot get out. I would have wandered down that path so easily again though I deceive myself with false hope.

Oh heavens, Critias, Timaeus, and all you silvery spirits tell me the truth. What are we? Do I know these answers but simply deny the truth from myself?

Yes. It is my greatest fault. I know what lurks in the souls of those born to this new beginning.

We are nothing but the shadow of death. We view history as a story and fading day dream passing before our very eyes.

We are the paragon of ancientness.

We are… broken hearts.

Us, the Valar.

_I wish you were with me… _

-Celest Alathielle

ca. 412 B.C.E

* * *

_Valar: _(Vampires)

**Please Review. **


	2. Chapter 2

Valar - Vampire

Beolgo - Children of the Moon (Werewolves)

* * *

Thirsting

Are there limits beyond the stars? Where are the celestial bodies of light that watch over us? Why must we, I and my brethren that is, cry ourselves through the night?

There is so much death, so much memory, and so much nothingness. After the span of endless decays of the millennia there is but one thing left; blood. Such a pleasure and such excitement the smell of fear provides. The faces of terror that are imprinted in my eternal lasting mind do not horrify me but rather excite me.

Yet why? Why must the faces of the innocent souls, the thousands I have slaughtered excite me to murder even more of them. I do not wish this. I do not want these evil emotions. I HATE THEM. I hate myself for feeling what I feel.

_THUMP THUMP… THUMP THUMP… _

My cold immortal heart… it beats… I feel it grinding and wanting to break free. The dark lightning that belongs to _him…_

Courage… Wisdom… Fearlessness… You three that have guided me throughout the path and have shown me the light, I beg you, please set me free of this. He cannot break loose. He can never get out. The sacrifices that we made.. so long ago… It cannot be in vain.

My memories… they are all that bind me to this life. They are the only straps that hold me to this realm. It is they that remind me of the past and that all that has happened long ago was indeed very real. They are like daggers stabbing into my chest. They always remind me… always swarm around and show their hideous faces to me.

Why oh why did it have to be us? Why did we have to take such evil within us? There were so many others… But is it right to wish such a doom upon them?_ If not us then them_; it is what Celest always whispers. She is right.

Still thirsty… Always thirsty… There should be no reason for this diabolical desire…

The bloodlust… it dwindles away over the course of millenniums, yes. I have not truly been thirsty for two thousand years. It is as if our venom after so many years of consuming the elixir of life becomes… pure. It has no need for blood anymore.

But the taste, it refreshes, and clarifies. It is the only pleasure left to me. The only… pleasure…

There is no woman by my side. There is no true companion for this old dead thing… It is… difficult to bind yourself to someone when you know that once upon a day their minds will become enlightened and they will rise to a plane of white shores, the paradise that rests beyond the stars.

I lied. Once I felt a great pleasure, oh yes. So many eons ago it was I who had slain the most powerful and ancient of all the Beolgo. His fur was white as snow, and his eyes yellow and so bitter. It was Fenrir.

What a pleasure it was to see him so helpless and surprised by my awesome power. We the Valar have always been superior to them. By killing him I showed great benevolence to this world. If I had not, all would be filthy abominations by now…

I remember as if though it was yesterday. The warmth of his black blood flowing through my fingers was mind numbing. The glory I felt when I pierced his chest and twisted his heart until finally he fell was a like a narcotic. It provides much more enjoyment to turn their insides to dust rather than to shred them into millions of pieces… always..

This achievement turned me into a Valar of legend. Yet, what good is a legend when it cannot be known by anyone? Another sacrifice we had to commit. Even more so than our immortal brothers and sisters, we must cling to the shadows even tighter. The shadows in turn always welcome us as death walks with us along the road.

Ha. How ironic that I have found myself back in this forest. It was here that Fenrir fell to me. This forest…

So many souls have already wandered through here. This place was forgotten by mortals and even our own kind millennia ago. They should consider themselves fortunate. This forest should not be known. This forest… the trees… they are murderers. Too much has happened here.

There is a presence within these hollow barks that makes our beings shiver. This forest, so old, older than any of us. It is filled with memory.

Yes, there was a battle here, long ago. A struggle between the Valar, and the Beolgo. There was a war that span over many years and the forest suffered. It cried out its tears for them to stop but they did not. The war lasted for many years on these grounds and in the end… the forest died.

But it was reborn. The aftermath of the war was the key for the forests survival. Yet, it was not what it should have been. The venomous elixirs of the Valar and the Beolgo flooded the earth and invaded its soft soil. They mixed together and settled within the barks of the trees. This forest… is immortal.

This forest… is evil. Its hollow barks are infested with black leaves as venom still flows through their roots and their crowns. The leaves now bear the resemblance of demons from the ancient world. There are great big horns, flared nostrils, diamond eyes, and big long forked tongues. This forest now mocks the living. It is envious, and dirty to its very roots.

Occasionally this evil place will show you visions from long lost pasts. It has seen so many of us Valar. These visions can fool you, trick your thoughts, and even murder you.

There have been so many that wandered through these woods that have never returned. Though this forest should be set ablaze and cast to the fiery chasms where it belongs we, the dead, keep it.

This forest is a testament; it is a… challenge for all those that seek the great path. This forest tabs into the fears of all, and projects these fears and feeds upon their fear. So many have gone mad, and so many have taken their own immortalities to escape this forests horror.

Yet, do not fret for there is a reward beyond the crowns of darkness. One must find the light within and shed themselves of fear to navigate through the forests evil. Once done, the path is begun, and the first step of enlightenment has been reached.

After the forest, just pass through the two trees that look like lions, and then take a right when you reach the stone covered in black blood and travel up the hill. Once up the hill, wait for the sun to rise.

Once Sol shows her mighty face the reward will appear and the knowledge of the ancients will belong to you.

_The city destroyed, yes, but the spirit lingers on. It will teach you to ascend to beyond the stars; to the white shores. _

The forest of Dalmoriuth; it is its name now.

How I wish I could see what lies beyond the horizons and beyond the shores. I crave that life more than anything else. For us however, this life can never exist. The young dead rise to the heavens above while we old dead linger on so we may see the end of all things.

WE must be strong. We must be beacons of hope and light. We must show the strength and represent the pride of the ancient world and all those that lived in it. We are the reason why this world has not been covered in darkness. It is our sacred duty to stop the chaotic one's return.

Huhh… I sigh as always. I am thirsty. No, I am not thirsty. I am not thirsty for blood but rather the pleasure and clarity that it brings. Every single drop that falls upon my tongue is a tear cried by the holder of the elixir. It excites me, and it kills me.

Why do we go on? What if we were to rise above? Would the evil of earth follow us? Would it reach the realm of whiteness? Surely the evil would be unleashed, untamed, and unchecked it would ravage through the world destroying all in its path.

We can never rise. We can never find salvation and true enlightenment.

We are trapped. We cannot get out.

Is it such a horrendous idea to wish happiness on oneself though? Is the revelation of it such blasphemy? Is it too much to ask for the warmth of a companion? How I would love to sit upon a rock and stare at her face and recall all the memories we share. It is my dream. My dream of finding love, and keeping it; eternally.

But one day I would break her little black heart or she would crack my even colder one. A bond of love is… so…far… out of reach. How can you love when you know that one day it will end and you cannot accompany her? I am weary…

I am… nothing… I am tired… I am… hollow.

I am a broken heart. I am a Valar.

Best return into the jungle, back into the depth of the shadows to protect the sacred place; the place from which so many have risen.

Farwell world. Farewell all of you that live in the light… I envy you… Goodbye.

_Beyond the stars horizons wait… through shadows and the cold abyss…_

_Forsaken in the dark we were… far away… from white shores._

_The weeps of willows are our tears… bound forever… in eternal death._

_A light to reach in the night… stretched out their hands all eight did. Bound forever… by the blood of man._

_Now we travel down the road… and alone we fly with the winds. Eternally… hidden… in the hearts of worlds._

_Forever shall we live… forever shall we live…_

_Never will we fade… never will we fade…_

_Us the Lords of old._

…

Still thirsty…

-Olokun Manumba

ca. 1166 A.D

* * *

Hope you enjoyed. **Pleae Review.**


End file.
